Churning Away

 The dish cloths are still coming fast and furious. This is Mango Madness.

 This one is Cottage Twist.

 This one is Hippi Ombre.

The next one will be Mod Ombre. I just can't seem to stop myself.

A Good Friday Finish

 I had planned on completing Arietta's last chart on Easter Sunday but I couldn't resist finishing when I sat down and discovered I only had this itty bit to do.

That's the last pattern repeat right there. It felt awful good even though this was a pretty painless knit.

That's it. That's the last stitch. The last chart is a head scratcher but it worked out.

Now I have a big pile of spaghetti in desperate need of a good blocking but that's not happening anytime soon.

Sunday Funday

Middle Sister Daddy-sat for the whole day and night while I made merry with the family over at Daughter's yesterday. She had a surprise waiting for me. This cute lambie....

 ...and this card. Don't you love it?

 She remembered the jelly beans. I don't have a bit of Easter candy in the house this year and by the fit of my spring clothes, I really don't need it.

 We dyed eggs on her porch.

That was very brave because she just outfitted it with all this beautiful new outdoor furniture.

 It was Grandbaby's first dyeing experience but....

 ...it was The Mister and Middle Son who really got into it.

 They turned out beautifully.

 Dinner was the usual.

 Middle Son did most of the veggie work. Daughter did the rest. I brought store bought potato salad and coleslaw.

I think I ate my weight in mayonnaise.

 We also had gluten free matzo ball soup. It was good. Very good. I was surprised.

 Pup, who survived the long car ride to Daughter's, showed off her new trick-begging for food. Not cool.

Number One Son made beer. It was an Irish red and it was tasty. I told him to make me a six pack for Mother's Day. I hope he remembers.

 We surprised The Mister with a belated birthday cake that Daughter-in-Law brought.

Finally we took Grandbaby out to look for eggs. He caught on to the new game very quickly much to our delight. What a sweetie. I can't imagine how we ever got along without him.

Easters Past

 There's not much in the way of Easter going on over at Daddio's so coming up with a post for today was a challenge. While he was napping, I took a peek in a box of photo's and papers that had been stashed away in his hall closet.

I found a poem I had written in 6th grade and printed up in a booklet by my teacher. That typo should say "on the wing" and not "on the run". Apparently my teacher knew nothing about rhymes.

I think that's me in my Easter bonnet with my diaper on display. Anyone remember rubber pants? I must have been going somewhere I didn't want to go. I have no idea who the headless woman is behind me. My mother would never have worn a dress like that so I know it's not her.

 That's my grandmother on Easter on her way out to services at Brentwood Methodist Church, I'm guessing. We called her Meme. She was always a looker. I wish I had inherited that tall, thin body. My daughter did.

 I have no idea who these kids are but they have nice Easter baskets.

 

 That's me again dressed up for egg hunting. That car tells you how old I am. So does the printing on the side of the photo.

 More strange kids and more really nice baskets. I love cellophane wrapped baskets.

I do know that this is my father's sister Sara Jane in her Easter bonnet. He always called her Esther for no good reason, even though she hated it. We called her Aunt Esther until the day she died and she let us because we didn't know any better having been raised by her idiot brother. True story.

Happy Easter everyone!

Busy Hands

My nights with Daddio's are coming to an end. Middle Sister goes back to work Monday so I will be switching over to days and she will do nights. Little Sister will be joining us here and there when needed. It's such a blessing to have a herd of us to bear this burden. I feel sorry for only children. To make things easier for us the manage him, we've rented a hospital bed and set it up in the living room so he can see the TV and moved the sewing tables in there so he can watch us sew.

He left us a big pile of paper pieces to finish so in between his care and feedings, I've been making my way through the pile.

I'm not as good at it as he was.

Even my ironing leaves a lot to be desired. His were always nice and tight and crisp. Mine are rather sloppy and floppy.

I've made nine rings now. I only need one more. I need to get some backing and start sewing them down.

Daddio loves his variegated thread and I'm a big fan now too.

It fools the eye so my terrible whip stitches seem to disappear.
I am really feeling the need to get this project done in the near future. I would like him to see it finished.

Daddio's hip surgery is scheduled for May 7th but I'm afraid it's going to be a race against the clock. Trying to keep him in good enough physical shape to even have the operation is not going to be easy. Laying immobile has taken a huge toll on his general health and things aren't looking good. We are in for some long and difficult days ahead, I'm afraid.

Day By Day

I have been doing the night shift with Daddio but neither of us get much sleep. As soon as the sun starts to go down his behavior becomes odd. Doctors call this "sundowning". People suffering from dementia, no matter how mild (such as Daddio's case), become agitated at night and fight sleep. He falls into his only really deep sleep of the day just when the sun comes up over the bay. Exhausted from a night of trying to convince him to rest, I finally get a few hours of peace.

While waiting for Middle Sister to come and take over the day shift, I've been working on this old thing. We started this yo-yo pillow a long time ago and making more yo-yo's for a few minutes a day has been something to look forward to.

We've got a big stash of orphan charm squares that are perfect for the job.

It's the sewing equivalent to rows and rows of mindless garter stitch. I'm still churning out dish cloths but I can knit those in the dark in the middle of the night. I can't sew until the sun comes up.

These little things are so cute. I'm not sure how I am going to end this project when the pillow top is finally full. I'll just have to worry about that another day.

Chag Pesach Sameach!

 Happy Passover y'all! Thanks to my brother in law, we were introduced to the glory of the matzo years ago.

 It's a happy day when the Passover food gets put out on the shelves of the grocery stores. Those coconut marshmallows are to die for and if you cover them with melted chocolate you will go straight to heaven.

 I confess I love Manischewitz wine. I imbibe all year long. It cures what ails you.

Our family favorite is matzo ball soup.

 Since the weather has become rather wintery once again, you can't beat a hot pot of these bubbling nuggets for warming the tummy.